PHOTOGRAPHY
JPEG 2000 was the Joint Photographic Experts Group’s lossless answer to lossy JPEG files. The newer JPEG 2000 also corrected system errors and poor resolution problems.
As useful as the JPEG 2000 is, it hasn’t grown in popularity the way its creators expected. Find out if the JPEG 2000 is the right file type for you and how to use it in your next project.
The JPEG 2000 name comes from the Joint Photographic Experts Group, which launched the file format as an update to JPEGs at the turn of this century. Like regular JPEGs, JPEG 2000s are also pixel-based raster files.
Compared to JPEGs, JPEG 2000 files perform better and produce sharper, deeper, and more detailed images. That’s because JPEG 2000 users can save their images in a lossless format, meaning that the file loses very little image data during compression. JPEG 2000s also support a higher dynamic range and are less affected by bit errors. The downside is that not all browsers support the JPEG 2000 format. In fact, Safari is the only major browser that provides access to JPEG 2000 files.
The JPEG 2000 uses these file extensions:
The Joint Photographic Experts Group launched the JPEG 2000 as a next-generation JPEG that promised better performance and image quality — but it never went mainstream.
There are various reasons why JPEG 2000 never gained wide popularity. Firstly, JPEG 2000 didn’t have backward compatibility — it only worked with the latest technology. Secondly, 64MB was the average computer memory at the time of its launch, which was nowhere near enough RAM required to process the files comfortably.
JPEG 2000 quickly fell into relative obscurity, despite its many advantages.
JPEG 2000 files support a high dynamic range, enhanced resolution, and transparency. Medical professionals use them during MRI, X-ray, and CT scans.
Motion JPEG 2000 adapts JPEG 2000 for video compression. Its dynamic range, high resolution, and color spacing make it a key file format choice for digital cinema. It became the video coding standard in 2004.
It’s worth considering the main advantages and disadvantages before you start using JPEG 2000s.
JPEG 2000 is compatible with several image editing programs, including Adobe Photoshop. To open a .JP2 file, simply open the latest version of Photoshop and select your .JP2 file from your computer.
Safari is the only web browser that supports JPEG 2000. To open in another browser like Chrome or Edge, you’ll need to convert your .JP2 to another format.
Follow these easy steps to create a JPEG 2000 using Adobe Photoshop:
1. Open an existing image file in Photoshop and click Save As.
2. Select JPEG 2000 from the Format menu.
3. When prompted, check the box to save the file as lossless or lossy. Lossless compression results in a larger (but higher quality) image.
4. If you choose lossy compression, you can adapt the compression of the image using the slider and preview image.
5. Save your new JPEG 2000 file to a location on your desktop.
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